The Classical Greeks were great story tellers. We are still fascinated by Odysseus, Oedipus, Jason and the Golden Fleece, Hercules, and Orpheus, flawed heroes, who had to suffer through many trials and obstacles before reaching their goal. We love the narrative reversals on their hero’s journey. We love to see them not just being wrong but also discovering that they are wrong. Aristotle had a term for this kind of sudden reversal: peripeteia. He saw it as essential to the success of any narrative. Peripeteia literally means a “turning around.” Anagnorisis—or “recognition”—is a moment when a character discovers for himself his own wrongness. This, says Aristotle, characterizes the highest, most affecting kind of drama. The insight here is less concerned with external matters as with internal problems. The character undergoes a reversal in her construal of reality. These archetypical plot structures make even contemporary novels, movies or drama gripping and moving. Besides concepts like peripeteia, or anagnorisis, hubris or pride, metanoia, change of mind, and even katharsis are important to give our stories meaning. In this class we will discuss several Greek myths and identify these pivotal events. Participants will then create an outline of their own stories containing at least one of these concepts. You will be emailed the Zoom link 24 hours before the start of class. If you sign up less than 24 hours before the start of the class, please email Kristen at programs@sandiegowriters.org for your link.
